


i took my old mentor on a patrol (gone wrong) (police were called)

by wavewisp



Series: One-off Warriors AUs [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon Divergent, Gen, Past Child Abuse, most satisfying videos 2017: thistleclaw dies, thistle and tiger are the only major characters here the others are just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-11 10:44:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19926793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wavewisp/pseuds/wavewisp
Summary: tw: graphic animal / cat death, past physical abuse + implications of itoriginally wrote this in like 2017 as a wc rewrite concept but touched it up to post here. i swear i can write more than just cats dying but truly it is the most iconique part of warriors





	i took my old mentor on a patrol (gone wrong) (police were called)

Tigerclaw stalked through the forest, ears pricked as he padded skillfully amongst the undergrowth. His outer coat tugged on brambles and burrs but he paid it no heed, lost scraps of fur were of no concern to the massive dark brown tabby. It had just barely broken dawn, and Tigerclaw had volunteered to head the dawn patrol of the RiverClan border. Behind the tabby trekked Thrushpelt, Leopardfoot, Runningpaw, and Thistleclaw. Lashing his tail, Tigerclaw stopped in his tracks. He opened his maw to taste the air, rotating his ears to maximize his hearing. He turned around in a tight semicircle to face his Clanmates he had brought with on patrol. “It’s been quiet enough. We’ll cover more ground if we split up across the border.” The dark tabby saw no objection in his Clanmates’ faces.

“Thistleclaw and I will patrol from here until Treecut Place. Leopardfoot, take Thrushpelt and Runningpaw up until the forest breaks before Sunningrocks, then we regroup and continue with the whole patrol from there. If anything happens, send either for us or for camp.” Leopardfoot nodded, and Runningpaw flicked an ear, his face lit up with excitement; it was no secret the lithe apprentice looked up to the bulky tabby. Tigerclaw dipped his head in confirmation, and began to turn aside to begin his new trajectory towards the Treecut Place.  
He looked back to see the other three cats heading out in the opposite way, and to verify that Thistleclaw was following him. Thistleclaw was, indeed, and he had an unidentifiable glint in his eye. For a moment Tigerclaw felt a strong, primal fear instinct; he fought the urge to run to catch up to his mother, mewling like a kit. Choking his instincts back, he carried forward, the dull terror gnawing away in his chest.

The dark tabby continued on with his patrolling, the smaller, patched gray cat following him. The orange sunlight was just barely creeping through the mixed canopy of pine needles and leaves by the time that Thistleclaw finally matched his pace to meet Tigerclaw’s. “It’s been a while, Tigerclaw.”   
He remained silent, lips very slightly raised- not enough to show his teeth. He could feel his fur rising of its own accord but he forced it to remain flat. _NEVER show fear, you mouse-brain. This fleabag taught you that._ Still, Tigerclaw’s voice cracked just a bit when he responded. “Yes.”  
“There’s been no claw nor whisker of RiverClan,” The gray cat sounded smug - Tigerclaw refused to look at him - as he inched ever closer to the tabby with every stride. “There’s time to waste before the other three ever get back.” Closer.  
“We could go hunt together, just like the old seasons.” Thistleclaw’s heavy, hot breath crept past his cheek, uncomfortable on his maw and _in the name of Silverpelt herself, stop. Get away from me._ But Thistleclaw stayed ever so close, surely revelling in the fear-scent that Tigerclaw could smell on himself; enjoying how he made every hair on the tabby’s coat prickle, how he made such a formidable cat break down. 

> And Tigerclaw was taken to a different place. A place where he was small, just a newly made apprentice. He stared at his new mentor with awe- he couldn’t believe that his best friend’s dad was his mentor! Thistleclaw was so cool! Eagerness coursed through his veins and he eagerly stood on his toe tips to allow his new mentor to touch his nose to his forehead. _I have the best mentor- I’m gonna be the best warrior!_  
>  And then the first joint battle practice. " _Show him you’re not weak, Tigerpaw! Claws out, only kits fight with sheathed claws!_ " Whitepaw is scared, no Whitepaw is hurt, no, he is bleeding!? _He is your son, why are you happy about this!?_  
>  And then the solo battle training - _no you aren’t supposed to have your claws unsheathed why are you hurting me? Why do you **want** to hurt me?_ Blow after blow is hidden under thick fur all because Thistleclaw was SAD, he was HURTING because Snowfur is gone, so he needed to relieve it somehow; that’s what he said after the violent sessions. 
> 
> Why was hurt the outlet he engaged with? Did he enjoy it? Why did it have to be _ME_?! I’m hurting too!

Tigerclaw whipped around to face Thistleclaw, teeth bared, with his amber eyes ablaze and pupils reduced to slits. _I’m not your apprentice anymore!_ With a snarl, he raised a massive paw and brought it slamming down upon the top of Thistleclaw’s head, catching the elder cat off guard and knocking him down. Tigerclaw backed away from the senior warrior, lips drawn back in a hostile grimace.  
Thistleclaw regained his stance, hissing at the tabby he had once apprenticed. “How dare you!” He yowled, launching himself at the massive opponent. Tigerclaw braced himself to meet his attack- his claws scratched through pelt as his old mentor’s made contact with his skin. Grabbing the scruff of his neck as tightly as he could with his teeth, he hurled the assailant away. In doing so, he felt a terrible pain; Thistleclaw had caught one of his forelegs in his claws, and his own force had torn a deep wound that now leaked blood.  
Thistleclaw skidded across the forest floor, blood soaking the fur of one of his paws and seeping from the blunt swipe that Tigerclaw had hit his head with earlier. Before he could manage to at least steady himself, the giant brown tabby leapt through the air, pinning the grey cat down. Thistleclaw spat a cuss, striking Tigerclaw’s soft underbelly with his rear legs. With a growl of pain, Tigerclaw’s gait became uneven and Thistleclaw took that to his advantage. In a skillful maneuver, he slid from under the younger warrior’s powerful paws and leapt onto his back, continuing to shred at the pelt underneath.  
Tigerclaw thrashed in an attempt to dislodge the other cat, but all was in vain. He felt Thistleclaw’s fangs near his nape. Adrenaline flooded through his body as he ran and turned suddenly to slam his back into a tree, taking Thistleclaw with him. With a surprised croak, Thistleclaw dislodged from Tigerclaw’s back and slumped to the ground. Adrenaline driving his every movement, Tigerclaw once again pinned down Thistleclaw, this time with unsheathed claws to his throat. Tigerclaw’s expression was one that Thistleclaw had never seen on a cat before; one of hate, rage, unjust, fear. The tips of Tigerclaw’s claws began to sink into Thistleclaw’s throat as he spoke. “You’re paying for everything. Everything you did.” With a pained snarl, he continued. “I was just an apprentice. But I’m not anymore. You’re nothing more than crowfood to me.”   
Thistleclaw’s eyes narrowed, a sly smile creeping onto his face. “Nothing is stopping you, Tigey,” The claws sunk in deeper at the utterance of his mother’s kithood nickname. “Keep this in mind. I am always, always with you. I am in your name, your very warriorhood. And now, I will be on your conscious.”   
Tigerclaw retracted his claws, drawn back in horror. Thistleclaw smirked, sneered tauntingly at him. “You are more my blood than Whitestorm ever was. You are more like me than you will ever know.”

The tabby hissed loudly in defiance, and let out a rage-filled yowl. “I will NEVER be ANYTHING like you!” Deadly as a snake, Tigerclaw launched forward, sinking his fangs deep into Thistleclaw’s throat; then tearing his head back, ripping out pelt, flesh and airpipe. He spat these out immediately, watching the treacherous warrior writhe on the ground. Thistleclaw attempted to yowl out in pain, but only succeeded in making horrific gurgling noises and having blood pool up in the gaping wound in his throat. Unable to watch anymore, he scored his claws inside the wound, hoping that would speed up the process. In a few agonizing seconds, Thistleclaw was silent and limp, his yellow eyes glazed over and unfocused. 

The exhaustion and his injuries finally caught up with Tigerclaw as he backed away from the body, panting heavily. His mind was foggy.  
_I just killed Thistleclaw for real. This isn’t a dream, Tigerclaw. Wake up, you just killed your CLANMATE._  
Struggling to regain a normal breathing rate, Tigerclaw padded away from Thistleclaw to the break in the forest that lead to the river. Washing his paws of Thistleclaw’s blood and fur, he opened his maw to taste the air, thinking quickly. By some sense of a miracle, Tigerclaw was able to pluck a few leaves of a low to the ground shrub that had been marked by a RiverClan patrol around yesterday. If he planted these around the area where he and Thistleclaw had fought, he could pass this off as a RiverClan ambush. Tensions were already tight and this could lead to war, but he could not be blamed for this _murder_.

The word hung in Tigerclaw’s mind as he ran towards where he came from.


End file.
